Posted: September 12, 2015 11:32
Dee Duren, NewsOn6.com
Erin Conrad, News On 6
TULSA, Oklahoma -
One man died and another was injured while working on the Tulsa Fairgrounds Skyride Saturday. It happened just after 10 a.m. when something malfunctioned with the safety basket the workers were in, causing it to fall to the ground.
The men were doing routine maintenance on the ride, according to the Tulsa Fire Department.
The workers were wearing harnesses and were dangling from the cables when rescue crews arrived. Tulsa firefighters and medical personnel used a ladder truck to bring the men down.
District Chief Lee Horst said they sent a firefighter and a paramedic up in the ladder truck to bring the men down and free them from the safety harnesses.
One of the men was able to walk after being brought down from the cables, but first responders were doing chest compressions on the second man - all the way to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
A crowd from the gun show being hosted inside the Exchange Center gathered outside as firefighters and first responders worked.
"We heard a little bit of the racket and then a friend of mine had said he'd seen the guy hanging, and just - he had no movement at all," said witness George Hopkins.
Witnesses said the whole thing happened suddenly and out of nowhere. One minute the men were working, the next - dangling dangerously from above.
Chief Horst said the safety basket fell onto transformers below the Skyride.
"Apparently the platform they were working from, when it fell, it fell into an electrical area on the ground, and PSO is here to make sure there's no damage to the electrical system," Horst said.
Both men were taken to the hospital, but one did not survive. The other man is in fair condition.
Their names have not yet been released.
Expo Square issued the following statement:
An accident occurred on Saturday morning during routine maintenance of the Sky Ride. The incident involved the work platform, which is utilized to service and inspect the ride components. The Sky Ride was not in operation during the time of the incident, and did not involve any patrons or Ride Gondolas. The accident involved two workers employed by DMC Tulsa, LLC (DMC), an Oklahoma limited liability company with its business offices located in Wisconsin, and is the current Sky Ride Lessee and Operator. Tulsa County Public Facilities Authority (TCPFA) and DMC, are working in full cooperation with public safety officials.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families at this time.
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by Erik Ortiz and Chris Essner
One of two workers rescued Saturday morning after becoming stuck about 90 feet in the air on an elevated ride at an Oklahoma fair has died, Tulsa fire officials said.
The man suffered cardiac arrest and was unconscious as he was being taken down, and was later pronounced dead at the hospital, officials said.
Two men have been rescued after their equipment fails on the Tulsa Fairgrounds Skyride. The Tulsa Fire Department says workers were replacing wheels on the Skyride when an equipment failure caused both men to fall and become trapped. Ross Hannaford via KJRH-TV
The two maintenance workers at the Tulsa Fairgrounds were inside a bucket and replacing wheels on the Skyride, which carries riders on wires high above the fairgrounds. But the bucket broke and fell to the ground, officials said.
The workers, however, were strapped in harnesses, preventing them from falling to the ground as well.
Firefighters had to use a ladder truck to get the pair down about a half-hour after the first call came in. They performed CPR on the man who went into cardiac arrest, reported NBC affiliate KJRH. He also had severe injuries to his head.
The other worker did not have serious injuries and was alert when he was taken to the hospital, officials said.
The workers' identities were not immediately released.